{"id":4694,"date":"2026-07-10T10:33:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4694"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:33:55","slug":"for-legacy-fcs-lilly-reale-the-best-place-to-get-better-is-right-in-her-boston-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4694","title":{"rendered":"For Legacy FC\u2019s Lilly Reale, the best place to get better is right in her Boston backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lilly Reale didn\u2019t expect to have to make this decision so soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hingham native had imagined what it might be like to play for Boston Legacy FC, her hometown NWSL team, but she never let her mind wander too far. She was happy at Gotham FC, where she was the 2025 Rookie of the Year and won a championship in her first season. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Brody Bumila has a UCL injury, but how much will that affect his draft status?<\/a><\/p>\n

But early this season, Reale\u2019s playing time took a dive. She started 21 games as a first-year player, but just five of Gotham\u2019s first 10 to open 2026. Playing time (or a lack of it) wasn\u2019t much of a concern, but Reale worried about stagnating so early in her career. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Legacy had been in talks with Gotham about acquiring Reale, but the New York team was hesitant to let go of such a young, talented player. <\/span><\/p>\n

That changed during the men\u2019s World Cup break as Gotham prepared to chase Australian star Sam Kerr. The team needed cash, which Boston could provide as part of the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch West presented Reale with the possibility of the trade, the defender didn\u2019t want to let emotions make the decision. (Per the collective bargaining agreement, players can only be traded with their explicit consent.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, coming home to Massachusetts was an exciting prospect. But it would also mean leaving an established club in favor of an unproven team still working out the kinks. <\/span><\/p>\n

It took Reale about a week of deliberation to make the call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cComing here was purely a developmental move,\u201d she said. \u201cHow can I come into a team that is growing and evolving and continue to grow myself?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This season represents an inflection point in her young career, as the United States gears up for the World Cup in Brazil next summer. Reale has 13 caps with the national team, and she said it would be \u201ccrazy\u201d to say she\u2019s not thinking about trying to make the World Cup roster. <\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>After monthlong break, Boston Legacy FC battles back to earn a draw with Bay FC<\/div>\n

She believes the Legacy, with their overwhelmingly international roster and coaching staff, gives her the best shot to do that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be able to learn from these coaches and players the different tactics that they bring in,\u201d Reale said. \u201cI think they bring a different style, which is really fun, being that they come from so many different cultures and have competed and coached with so many different teams in the US and across the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Assimilating into a new team always comes with its challenges, but Reale said the transition has been about as smooth as can be. It helps that some of her newest teammates are also some of her oldest friends. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reale grew up playing club soccer for South Shore Select, where she was occasionally teammates with forward Sammy Smith. Reale attended youth soccer camps with midfielder Annie Karich, and she grew close with midfielder Sophia Lowenberg through Reale\u2019s younger sister, Sophie, who played with Lowenberg at Boston College. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the field, Reale has made quick work of establishing herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLilly already knows how to play with all our players, because when you have a player that is intelligent and understands the game, it seems like she already connects with everybody,\u201d said coach Filipa Pat\u00e3o. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Jaylen Brown trade far from alone in the annals of \u2018obviously unpopular\u2019 Boston deals, and other thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n

It may be because she\u2019s always ready to say what she thinks.<\/span><\/p>\n

During games and in training, Reale\u2019s gravelly, authoritative voice rises to the top as she directs her teammates, offers them feedback, and calls for the ball. Pat\u00e3o said Reale\u2019s input has already been a difference-maker. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reale said that quality surfaced during her college days at UCLA. But when a reporter relayed that idea to Reale\u2019s longtime youth coach, Liz Lima, the founder and president of South Shore Select, Lima guffawed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGive me a break!\u201d Lima said. \u201cWhen she was 6 she was commanding the field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Boston Legacy schedule<\/div>\n

As an 8-year-old, Reale and her U-10 Select teammates attended a major national tournament after dominating the local circuit. Even as a small club from a small town in Massachusetts, they felt good about how they stacked up against bigger teams from Texas, California, and Florida. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the first game, they lost by double digits. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to go back to the drawing board after that, right?\u201d Lima said. \u201cSo we came back in, and Lilly motivated the team to go even harder.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lima recalled Reale telling her teammates something to the effect of: \u201cIf we want to be the best, it\u2019s not what we do when we compete in a game. It\u2019s the 365 days before that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pretty mature perspective for an 8-year-old. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Reale made her Legacy debut Sunday at Centreville Bank Stadium, in a 2-2 draw with Bay FC. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven when she wasn\u2019t on the ball, the way that she was able to control the tempo with her voice and was able to be a presence defensively and offensively \u2014 that\u2019s something everyone wants on their team,\u201d said Bay FC\u2019s Claire Hutton, one of Reale\u2019s USWNT teammates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reale had about three dozen friends and family in the crowd for her Boston debut, and the only thing louder than her voice during the run of play was the sound of her fan club\u2019s cheers. <\/span><\/p>\n

With so much of her family living nearby, Reale\u2019s move has been painless. One of her cousins owns a moving company, which made it even easier to relocate. <\/span><\/p>\n

As soon as they got word of the trade, the Reale family loaded up on Legacy merchandise to replace the Gotham blue. Family members stocked up on Boston jerseys, scarves, and green-and-black \u201cEveryone Watches Women\u2019s Sports\u201d T-shirts, and her grandfather is particularly fond of his bucket hat.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Reale makes frequent trips to her childhood home in Hingham, popping by for dinner and to catch up with her parents and sister, who will be a senior on the BC team. On one recent visit, she arrived to find 15 Legacy jerseys sitting on the kitchen counter awaiting her signature; they\u2019d later be doled out to family and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHome and community in Boston mean a lot to Lilly and the Reale family, so what could be cooler than to be able to come to your hometown and help build the women\u2019s pro team?\u201d said Lima, who remains close with the Reales. \u201cIt goes with her story, it goes with her values and who she is as a person. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Without offensive teeth, Morocco simply strikes out against France\u2019s firepower<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like you scripted it, like the most perfect movie plot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hingham native saw her playing time with NWSL champion Gotham FC drop off this spring. Getting uncomfortable on the field in the comfort of home was the way forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nFor Legacy FC\u2019s Lilly Reale, the best place to get better is right in her Boston backyard - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4694\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For Legacy FC\u2019s Lilly Reale, the best place to get better is right in her Boston backyard - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hingham native saw her playing time with NWSL champion Gotham FC drop off this spring. 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